Climate - Vigo (Galicia)

The climate of Vigo is temperate oceanic, with mild, rainy winters and warm, sunny summers.
The city is located in the north-west of Spain, in Galicia, in the province of Pontevedra, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the border with Portugal. We are in the tourist area of the Rías Baixas (a ría is the deep estuary of a river). The Ría of Vigo is the southernmost one. In the area of the rías, there are islands, protected in a national park. In front of Vigo are the Cíes islands.
Being directly exposed to westerly winds, Vigo is very rainy from October to May, while from June to September, it is often protected by the Azores Anticyclone, so the rains become less frequent.
The average temperature of the coldest month (January) is of 8.5 °C (47 °F), that of the warmest month (August) is of 20 °C (68 °F). The data refer to Peinador airport, which is located east of the city and at 260 meters (850 feet) above sea level, and therefore gives temperatures about 1/2 °C (1.8/3.6 °F) lower. Here are the average temperatures.

Precipitation amounts to 1,805 millimeters (71.1 inches) per year: it is therefore abundant. It ranges from 45 mm (1.8 in) in the driest months (July, August) to 265 mm (10.4 in) in the wettest (December). Here is the average precipitation.

Winter, from December to February, is quite mild, but it is also cloudy, rainy and windy. Although the temperature is generally not very low, wind and humidity increase the feeling of cold.
However, due to its location on the coast, the city is quite sheltered from cold waves. On the coldest nights of the year, the temperature typically drops to 0/1 °C (32/34 °F).
At the airport, the record is -5 °C (23 °F), set in February 1963. On that occasion (and also in January 1987), there was a snowfall that whitened the city, but otherwise, snow is extremely rare, given its west-facing position on the ocean.

The summer, from June to August, is warm and sunny.
There may be cool periods, with variable weather and some rain, but for the rest, nice days prevail. Fog can form at night and early in the morning.
There may also be very hot periods, which last a few days, in which the temperature reaches 35 °C (95 °F) or more. The absolute maximum temperature is 41 °C (106 °F), recorded in August 2016.



On average, there are around 2,280 sunshine hours per year. We are in the sunniest area of Galicia. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.

The sea temperature ranges between 13 °C (55 °F) and 19 °C (66 °F). So, the ocean stays cold enough even in summer, however, the brave can try swimming from July to September. Here are the average sea temperatures.

Best Time

The best time to visit Vigo is the summer, from June to August or the first half of September, since it is the driest and sunniest period of the year, especially for a beach holiday. Otherwise, you can choose the periods from mid-April to mid-June and from mid-September to mid-October, to avoid the heat that can occur in summer, although in these two periods it rains more often than in summer.

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